


Burgundy

by Himmelreich



Category: K (Anime)
Genre: And a little bit of angst, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Post-Series Pre-Movie, because those two are both a little bit too dramatic for their own good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-11
Updated: 2014-01-11
Packaged: 2018-01-08 07:42:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1130073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Himmelreich/pseuds/Himmelreich
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Weismann cannot sleep. Neither can Kuroh. A past-midnight meeting and a honest conversation ensue. Also, Weismann is his usual irresponsible self and does not abide by drinking age regulations.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Burgundy

He did not notice him entering the room, obviously. It was not as if Kuroh had tried to sneak in on him or anything, though he had not called out to him beforehand, either. It was just that it was way past midnight already, and in the absolute nocturnal silence that filled the apartment, every noise seemed out of place and inappropriate. For a moment, Kuroh stopped right on the threshold and simply looked at the other person in the room. The Silver King, Adolf K. Weismann, Isana Yashiro - a man of many names - stood with his back turned to him, his long hair falling in a silvery cascade over his shoulders, his head slightly tilted back, apparently gazing out the balcony window at the night sky above Shizume City, while absentmindedly swirling a glass of red wine with his left hand, right hand leisurely in his pocket.

Even after over two weeks, it was still a sight Kuroh was not the least used to. It seemed foreign, and wrong. Looking at that man standing there, it was hard to see any trace of the boy he had been dead set on hunting down not too long ago - going by the calendar, that is, since to him, it seemed like an eternity he had first cornered the individual Isana Yashiro after saving him from HOMRA's attack. The person he was looking at right now was someone he had only ever heard about from obscure rumors at best, and the first time he actually got to see him did not do much to tone down the mystery surrounding him. It was not exactly an everyday occurrence to be invited to the Gold King's palace to be allowed to visit a lifeless body in a glass coffin shaped freezer, after all. He still remembered the awe and estrangement he had felt that moment, starring down at that man who looked peaceful and detached even in death. Temporary death, to be more precise. Kokujoji Daikaku had explained to him back then that the body showed no signs of decomposing, and that this was proof enough to him that somewhere at least a part of Weismann's power had had to have survived the devastating incident on that fateful day of December. How incredibly morbid that conversation now seemed, looking at that very body being very much alive and standing there with a nonchalance that was almost irritating.

Kuroh shook off the lingering feelings of that day and crossed the room with long, confident strides. At last, Weismann turned towards him, surprise mingling with that ever-present moony facial expression of his.  
"Ah, you're still awake, Kuro?"  
It still threw him off, hearing that familiar voice coming from someone so entirely different. The only overlap between the boy he chased down for thinking he was the new Colourless King and the man standing in front of him was basically just that voice - and that aloof smile that seemed carved into his face.  
"So are you, Shiro."  
That was the one thing he had gotten used two over those past two weeks, at least - calling him by this name. It had been difficult at first, since everything about Weismann made Kuroh want to demonstrate respect for him as the King he was, and it seemed out of place for him to address his master in such a casual manner. Weismann had only laughed at his insecurity in that completely irrational way of his and told him that Kuroh would probably never be able to pronounce his actual name correctly, anyways, and that for him, he would always be Shiro, and Shiro only. He had since proven to be very stubborn in that matter, correcting Kuroh every time he fell back into old habits of adding honorifics to his King's name.  
"True", Weismann responded with a smile. "I'm not the least bit tired, to be honest, but then again, that should be expected, considering how long this body has been asleep."  
The serenity with which Weismann could talk about the fact that his soul and his body had been separated for _months_ still eluded Kuroh entirely. Sometimes he wondered if there was anything at all that could shake this man's placidity at all - somehow he severely doubted it.

"So, what's your excuse?"  
"None, actually."  
His answer was met by a small laugh.  
"I see. Care to join me, then?"  
Weismann raised his glass of wine as an elaboration of his invitation.  
Kuroh blinked, dumbfounded for a second, then answered with all the rigor he could muster: "You are aware that I am still not allowed to drink alcohol, aren't you?"  
"Really?"  
Weismann seemed honestly puzzled at this. Kuroh sighed.  
"Yes, legal drinking age in Japan is still 21, Shiro. And I certainly don't-"  
"My, my, it's only wine, though", Weismann interrupted, peering at his glass with an almost quizzical expression. "You know, in Germany you're allowed to drink wine and beverages of comparatively low concentration of alcohol at the age of sixteen already."  
"I didn't know I had acquired German citizenship automatically by becoming your clansman", Kuroh retorted dryly.  
This had Weismann burst out in a rather undignified giggle, before he turned around, heading to the sideboard behind him.  
"Valid argument. Though if you want to be like this, I'm not even sure if I'm allowed to be in Japan right now just like that. I mean, I never applied for visa or such a thing, either."  
Kuroh stared at Weismann's back in utter disbelief. He heard the soft clinging of glass against glass and the vigorous splash of wine flowing out of the bottle. As usual, he was being ignored in his requests, apparently.  
"Your best friend is more or less ruling this country, I doubt you would get into trouble because of such formalities", he sighed as Weismann turned back to him, handing him the glass. Kuroh hesitated for a heartbeat, then took it, eyeing it rather suspiciously.  
"Formalities, that's what I'm saying, no? Also, I am sure you're mature enough to enjoy the pleasures of alcohol responsibly. Well then, here's to you, my dear knight!"  
He gingerly clinked their glasses, and Kuroh could feel Weismann's ever-amused eyes on him as he carefully took a sip of the dark red liquid. It was unexpectedly sweet and heavy in taste, leaving his tongue feeling weirdly velvety and leaving a taste of summer and warm sunlight slowly unfolding after he had long swallowed the sip. He knew that his King was expecting a verdict.  
"It's good", he assessed, seeing Weismann's smile turn into something that he thought was genuinely happy. It was hard to tell with him, though.  
"I'm glad you like it. The Lieutenant had it imported from my homeland, as always. He has done so for the entire time I've been travelling the skies over this country. He's much more kind-hearted than people tend to think, you know?"  
"I know. Not only that he lets us stay here, he has also been very kind to Neko and I during your... absence", Kuroh replied, even though he knew the question was of rhetoric nature.  
"My absence, yes", Weismann replied, slowly, turning his head towards the window once more.

Even in this short time he had gained the ability to tell when that certain shift in Weismann's eyes took place; his gaze became unfocussed as if he was looking at something far away only he could see. It was in those moments that it really struck home to Kuroh that he was talking so someone who was in fact immortal, pushing a century of age and been through a personal hell he could not even begin to imagine. It was in those moments that Kuroh wondered what he was actually doing here. It was not his place to be with someone such as the Silver King. If he had felt insignificant in comparison to Ichigen-sama, his existence faded entirely in comparison to someone as great as the First King, the King of Origins, the King of Kings.  
"You're unhappy."  
Kuroh snapped out of his thoughts and found himself being intently gazed at. All detachment had vanished from Weismann's eyes as if it had never existed, and his presence in the room seemed to double by that alone.  
"I am not", he replied quickly, furrowing his brow wondering just how much of his thoughts Weismann could have guessed.  
"You're feeling uneasy in my presence, though, it seems", Weismann murmured, the usual musicality of his voice fading.  
Kuroh flinched at this statement, knowing he could never lie to his King. But saying the truth would certainly hurt him. He was facing a dilemma.  
"Yes", he finally stated. Weismann smiled warily in a way that made Kuroh wish he had disguised his feelings better. They had been fooling around about his King's carelessness with rules just a few moments before; he shouldn't have let the topic drift to such dangerous waters in the first place. He was his King's vassal, his Knight, he was supposed to protect him, be it from physical danger or simply the onslaught of hurtful memories. He had failed his master yet again. He was not strong enough to maintain composure around Shiro, he realised with shame, suddenly feeling the heat of suppressed tears filling his eyes, and quickly dropped his head, not wanting Weismann to see.

"That's why I've said back then that for us to be friends you shouldn't do things such as pledge allegiance to me. You don't owe me anything Kuro; it's me who owes everything to you. If being with me makes you uneasy, please don't force yourself to stay. I can't bear to see you unhappy, Kuro."

Back then - yes, that short span of time that Shiro had been aware of his true self before sacrificing himself to prevent the Colourless King from wreaking more damage among the remaining Kings. He had been sure he had found his new master, a person he could trust, a person who was worth dying for, just as Munakata Reisi had said. After Shiro's disappearance, he and Neko had spent a long time searching for their King, because for both of them losing him meant losing the place to belong to they had just found. And in every quiet moment, Kuroh had consulted the recorded wisdoms of his previous master, and it was only when he stumbled across the poem he had heard for the first time before saving Isana Yashiro from HOMRA that he understood what it really meant. "The fire lights, showing the shadow of a foreign king."  
He had found his foreign king, the man he wanted to devote his life to from now on, only to lose him in the red flames fueled by revenge for a crime that he never committed, letting himself devour by hatred out of both selflessness and selfishness, deserting a grieving friend and despairing clansmen, leaving behind nothing but ashes and a beautiful corpse, disturbing in its never-changing peacefulness.  
Kuroh lifted his head again, and saw this very unfamiliar and yet so familiar face, twisted into a sad smiling expression, silver eyes and silver hair and white skin, as if the man might have been made out of nothing but quicksilver and air, as if he might evaporate into stardust as soon as you touched him. It was a heartbreaking and lonely beauty to behold, and Kuroh could not take it.

"It's not like that!", Kuroh burst out, feeling his hand involuntarily clench around the glass, feeling it break, feeling shards cut into his palm and in the same moment feeling the soothing aura of the Silver Clan heal the wounds before they even bled, the red liquid dripping from his hand and pooling on the floor being nothing more than red wine.  
"It's just that you are something else. You are the first King, you're someone much greater than the rest of us, much greater than _me_. I misjudged you so thoroughly that first time we met, and the way you are right now is a constant reminder of just how much I failed in protecting you back then. How can I not be uneasy in your presence, my King?"  
He did not dare looking at his King's face then again, focusing his eyes on the red stain on the floor. Just one more thing he had ruined, he thought bitterly. He really was a failure as vassal in every way possible.  
"You couldn't be more wrong."  
Weismann's voice was soft, and suddenly Kuroh felt something warm brush his cheek. He looked up to see his King gently tucking back one of his fringe strands behind his ear, the thumb gingerly lingering on Kuroh's face.  
"Do you know what the core of my power is? Unchangeability, Kuro. I have not changed at all ever since the Dresden Slate chose me as a King, ever since that day that my city burned to the ground, ever since I lost... everything, or so I thought."  
He sighed, that far-away look back in his eyes, but still he kept his touch on Kuroh's face, and after a moment refocused on him with a smile.  
"I thought that nothing was ever going to change, Kuro. That it was my destiny to remain far off in the sky, to distance myself from all earthly matters and thus avoid anything that could potentially hurt me or disturb the peace that I made with my situation. I stayed like that for decades, you know, and I would still be there if not for the events of that December, if not for the plot of the Colourless King, and especially if not for you, Kuro. I am unchanged and yet I feel different. I am Adolf K. Weismann, and I am Shiro, and I am forever grateful that we met. No matter if my appearance or status or name might be different now, my feelings for you haven't changed ever since we met the first time. Thank you Kuro, thank you for everything. For looking for me, and waiting for me. For being there then, and for being here now."

It took Kuroh all of the restraint and control he had gained over his body under Ichigen-sama's careful tutelage to force back the tears now, no longer tears of frustration, but of both relief and happiness.  
"You should listen to yourself, being way too over-dramatic, Shiro", he said instead, feeling his voice tremble both with suppressed laughter and tears.  
"Aah, I've been told that I tend to do that, yes", Weismann replied sheepishly, pulling his hand away from Kuroh's face at last. "Even though that's rich, coming from someone such as you, Kuro, don't you agree?"  
There was this gleaming hint of humour and fooling around in his eyes that had driven Kuroh to utter exasperation more than once in Shiro throughout the time that they had been together, and that he still had learned to love throughout it all.  
"I guess that means we go together well, then, doesn't it", he replied softly, a warm feeling spreading through his entire being.  
Weismann laughed, and it was a beautiful sound, his entire form relaxing, not a distant, regal King, but Shiro, a gentle and forgiving friend, childish at times, wise at others, elusive and reliable. Kuroh should never have doubted for a second that his King could be anyone else but Shiro. He should have believed in Neko's words, because she had known immediately, embracing the new, long haired form of her human with the same enthusiasm as she had embraced the short haired schoolboy before him.  
"I wouldn't have it any other way, my dear former vassal of the Seventh, the Colourless King, Ichigen Miwa, Yatogami Kuroh", Weismann said, obviously imitating Kuroh's voice in an affectionately mocking tone.  
"That didn't sound anything like me, Shiro", Kuroh sighed, but the other man simply smiled.  
"And anyway, you forgot to add an important part; after all it has to say "and vassal to the First King, the Silver King, King of Origins, Adolf K. Weismann" now, too, right?"  
"That makes for a very long introduction, then, goodness gracious", Weismann struck a dramatic pose, lifting his hand to his forehead. "I wonder if my old self will be able to remember it for long!"  
"Now you’re just teasing me", Kuroh complained, without any edge to it.  
"I am", Weismann agreed happily, taking a sip from his wine, eyes twinkling at Kuroh from above the rim of the glass. "It's my way of showing affection, go ask the Lieutenant about it."  
"Tomorrow, maybe", Kuroh replied, sleepiness finally coming over him. He felt at peace now with himself and his King, and he could sleep now knowing that Shiro would be there, would not push him away, but would wait for him as Kuroh did for his King. It was a wonderful feeling. 

"I think I'll go to bed now, l'll just clean up the glass. I am very sorry about the wine", he went on, intent on picking up the shards right away. After all, they were still guests at Kokujoji's place here, and it would be more than bad manners to simply leave such a mishap unattended to. However, Kuroh felt a slender hand stop him in his tracks.  
"Don't be. I'll take care of it, don't worry about it. You've done enough already, go and get some rest. Goodnight, my dear knight", Weismann offered with a smile. And then, in one fluid motion, he leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss on the corner of Kuroh's mouth, for a split second only, leaving Kuroh behind not even sure it had happened when he turned and left for his own room.  
But when he fell asleep that night, he could still feel the sweet taste of red wine lingering, but mixed with something else; a drop of silver starlight, the warmth of an honest word, and the tingle of an everlasting promise.

**Author's Note:**

> I've started writing this fanfiction somewhen in spring last year, but never quite found a way to finish it just until now. Well, _Gut Ding will Weile haben_ , as it's said in German, so here it is finally completed. As of recently, it seems confirmed that Shiro will not return to his old body, but well, that is what fanfiction is for, after all! (For those who are wondering why Weismann's height is never mentioned, that would be due to the contradicting statements of GoRa on this fact. Some official art has him at over 2 metres, other at 1.71 metres. In the end, it doesn't matter, really, imagine him whatever way you want.)  
> Thank you for reading ☆ヽ(・∀・ )ﾉ


End file.
